sisters-in-law
by tru and dollhouse fan
Summary: Sequel to stepsisters. School is over. And Ginny Wealsey is on trial for creating, and using the forever lasting love potion. Hermione is going to testify. Suddenly the Death Eaters attack the Ministry and all hell breaks loose. Hermione must make sure the Death Eaters don't get their hands on the potion, and the only way to do that is keeping Ginny safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Sisters-in-law**

Chapter 1

On The Way to the Courtroom

It was the day of Ginny Weasley's trial. Finally, she would answer for what she had done. Six months ago, Hermione Granger had made the discovery, that Ginny Weasley had created and used a forever lasting love potion, something that was thought to be impossible. Unfortunately there was no law against making and using a love potion, since they only lasted a brief time. However, with Ginny Weasley's new potion, the Ministry of Magic now had to revaluate that. It had taken a long time for the Ministry to come to a decision as to whether or not to bring Ginny Weasley to trial. Was it right to put someone on trial for an evil deed that wasn't against the law? Just because something is legal doesn't necessarily mean its right.

Harry Potter was still under the influence of the FLLP (forever lasting love potion). Hermione had spent the past six months trying to find a cure, but she'd had no success. She had hoped, that she would have found one, by the time they had all graduated Hogwarts. But Ginny's potion was powerful stuff.

Hermione Granger was going to the trial for two very important reasons. Firstly, she was a witness and had to testify against Ginny Weasley. Secondly, she was going for moral support for Ron Weasley, her boyfriend and brother to Ginny Weasley. The fact that Hermione was the one who had exposed Ginny, had taken a toll on their relationship. Yet they had survived and were now a stronger couple for it.

Tomorrow, Hermione and Ron would accompany Harry Potter on the hunt for the missing Horcruxes. But today, they would attend Ginny's trial. The other Weasley's had already left, to go to the trial. But Ron had stayed behind to go with Hermione. Hermione wasn't too popular with the other Weasley's right now, and so she was keeping a distance. They travelled to the Ministry of Magic by floo powder, and were now walking along the hallways of the ministry, towards the courtrooms. Along the way, Ron stopped and pulled Hermione to one side.

"Ron, why are you stopping?" asked Hermione, puzzled by his behaviour.

Ron looked nervous, and Hermione was reminded of the time he asked her to the 7th years Halloween Ball.

"Hermione," breathed Ron "as you know, tomorrow we'll be going with Harry on the hunt for the remaining Horcruxes. And we both know that there's a good chance we may not come back... If we don't, I want you to know that I love you. "

Hermione was touched by those words, but she wondered what Ron was really trying to say. He then pulled out a small box from his pocket, and presented a ring. It wasn't anything special, just a plain brass ring. But Hermione knew what this meant.

"Hermione will you marry me? Here, now" He asked.

Hermione was speechless. Was Ron really proposing not only they get married, but they get married right here and now, only minutes away from his sister's trial?

"What?" gasped Hermione, trying to make sense of all of this.

"I have Kingsley in the next room waiting for us to come in" said Ron. "I told him that I want to marry you, and he agreed to do the ceremony. That is, if you want to, of course." said Ron nervously. "I realise this is all of a sudden. But I want to marry you, and today maybe the only chance we have. I know my family won't approve, but I've made my choice and I choose you. So what do you say?"

Hermione thought about it. She knew very well why Ron was proposing. She knew while on the hunt for the remaining Horcruxes, they may die, and that their time together maybe short. She didn't like the idea of dying without Ron as her husband. That would be her biggest regret. And when she thought about that, she had her answer.

"Yes" she said, with glee in her heart.

"Great!" said Ron, with a beaming smile. He then took a hold of her hand and led her into the next room.

Inside was Kingsley Shacklebolt, ready to marry them. Also there was Harry Potter (No doubt there as Ron's best man), Professor McGonagall was there too, and surprisingly Fred and George. But perhaps even more surprisingly than them, was her mother and stepfather, Arnold Parkinson.

Hermione was overwhelmed with joy by all of this, the fact that her mother was here on what was now her wedding day was truly wonderful.

"Mum," she gasped, "I can't believe your here. I thought Muggles weren't allowed in the Ministry. "

"Well technically Muggles aren't. But of course exceptions can be made for spouses." said Mr Parkinson.

"That's why your father isn't here darling" said her mother." we tried to get permission for him too, but there wasn't enough time"

"Why? How long have you all known about this surprise wedding?" asked Hermione.

"Ron only told us about three hours ago." said Fred.

"If he'd told us just 2 days in advance we could have gotten special permission from the ministers. Or at least forged the documents needed, if they'd said no." said George.

"That's why we're here," said Fred holding up a camera." to make sure he doesn't miss out."

The door to the room opened, and in came Luna Lovegood holding what looked like a wedding dress.

"Oh, sorry I'm late." said Luna in her dreamy voice. "Hermione, I hope you don't mind, but I thought you might want to where my mother's old wedding dress."

Hermione looked at the dress. It looked quite beautiful, not what she would have expected a member of the Lovegood family to wear.

"Thank you Luna." said Hermione gratefully, taking the dress.

Professor McGonagall then pulled out her wand, and transformed a desk that was on the far left of the room into a changing screen. There Hermione changed into the wedding dress. It looked very beautiful on her. It was a simple short sleeved wedding dress, with a lace top and a ruched bodice. Her hair unfortunately was still bushy, so her mother with the help of Luna, ran a brush through it, and after, her hair had smoothed out a bit.

She then walked up to Ron, to marry him.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Kingsley "we are gathered here today, to celebrate the union of two faithful souls. Ron and Hermione, although young in years, have experienced much in their life time. And among those experience's, they have found love, and have decided to declare their love, by joining in holy matrimony. These vows are not to be entered into lightly, nor are they to be taken without great consideration. If anyone can show good cause as to why these two should not wed, please speak now or forever hold your peace."

Hermione half expected someone to barge into the room at that very moment, and she had a feeling that she wasn't the only one. But as it was; No one came barging in. Which was a relief.

"Do you Ronald Bilius Weasley; take Hermione Jean Granger to be your lawfully wedded wife."

"I do." said Ron.

"Do you Hermione Jean Granger; take Ronald Bilius Weasley to be your lawfully wedded husband."

"I do." said Hermione.

"Then, I now declare you bonded for life." Pronounced Kingsley.

He then raised his wand high over their heads, and a shower of silver stars fell upon both Ron and Hermione. The stars then spiralled around both of them and entwined, symbolising the completion of their union. They then shared their first kiss as husband and wife.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Trial

After the wedding; Hermione and Ron went straight down to the courtroom, where Ginny Wealsey's trial was being held. Hermione had quickly changed out of her wedding dress and was now back in her normal clothes. She didn't like the idea of wearing a wedding dress to a trial. Especially now it was the trial of her own sister in law.

As Hermione dashed towards the courtroom, all she could think about was, the honeymoon will have to wait. Right now, she and Ron had more important things to do. Like getting through this trial; and later hunting down the Horcruxes.

As they entered the dark stoned courtroom, they saw that everyone else had already been seated.

The trial had not yet begun, but it was clear from the look on everyone else's face, that they had been keeping the others waiting. Ginny Weasley was sat in the center of the courtroom, and she did not look well. Her eyes were baggy and bloodshot; her skin was extremely pale and clammy too. She looked malnourished, and Hermione wondered, if weather or not, she had suffered enough already.

Two weeks ago. The Auror's had come to arrest Ginny, and they had not been delicate. They had stormed in to the Weasley's home, like muggle policeman, raiding a drug den. They had jinxed Ginny with an imobiulas curse. They then picked her up off the floor, and carried her over their shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Luckily Ginny had not been sent to Azkaban, but she had still been in a holding cell for the past two weeks, guarded by a single Dementor guard. If this is what Ginny Weasley looked like after only two weeks in a holding cell, and only one Dementor guarding her, Hermione hated to think what she'd look like after years in Azkaban, and hundreds of Dementor guards.

This trial had been kept secret. Most of the Wizarding world didn't know about it, and it was important that it stayed that way. There had been no Owl's sent, and no article's in the daily Prophet either. This had been done at the request of Dumbledore. He knew, if word got out that a forever lasting love potion existed, all hell would break loose. Plus, it was important that Voldemort and his Death Eaters, believed that Pansy Parkinson, invented the potion. This way they thought the potion was gone forever. It also kept Pansy alive while she was among truly evil villains. If word got out that Ginny Weasley; not Pansy Parkinson, invented it. Then Voldermort would probably murder Pansy, for deceiving him.

Hermione wondered where Pansy was right now. The last time she had seen her was at her mother's and stepfather's wedding, where Pansy had come in disguise, using Polyjuice potion. It seemed like Pansy had finally made peace with her father marrying a muggle, and that she and Hermione were now stepsisters. Hermione had not told anyone of Pansy's appearance, she thought it best not to. It was funny; a year ago Hermione was an only child. Now she had a stepsister and a sister in law.

The courtroom doors burst open; and Rufus Scrimgeour entered the room with a scowl on his face that made professor Snape seem friendly. Although Scrimgeour was not known for his smile, today he looked even more bad moody than usual. It was as though he was in no mood for this trial, like this trial was something tedious, beneath him. This was unfortunate because he was the judge.

As Scrimgeour took his seat, Hermione wondered if he had ever been in love. Probably not. Scrimgeour didn't seem like the kind of person who believed in love.

"Let us begin" Said Scrimgeour unenthusiastically. "As you all know, this trial is to determine if whether or not Ginny Weasley should be punished for the creation, and use of the forever lasting love potion."

"Objection!" said a voice from one of the benches. All heads now turned towards a good looking young wizard, with dark hair.

This was Robert Miller; Ginny Weasley's defense. Hermione had only read about him in the Daily Prophet, but couldn't help but admire him. He was one of the few people in the Ministry who was in favor of equality for all magical creatures. He was a bright young man, who had only graduated Hogwarts the year before Hermione started. And although he had never made the front page of the Daily Prophet he was considered a rising star to watch out for.

Hermione wondered why he was defending Ginny. Surely he couldn't agree with what she had done.

"It has not yet been proven, that my client did in fact invent the potion in question. She has not admitted to making it. Nor has it been proven, that this potion actually works."

This was either a very clever legal tactic, or Robert Miller actually believed Ginny was innocent.

"Your right," said Scrimgeour. "That is also why we are here. To determine if whether or not your client is in fact innocent." Scrimgeour then turned his attention to Ginny "Would the defended please stand."

Ginny, who had spent the entire time looking at her feet stood up. She was shaking like a frightened animal, and it looked like she was having trouble standing.

"Please state your name for the record." asked Scrimgeour.

"Ginny Weasley" said Ginny in a timid quiet voice.

"Ginny Weasley, you stand accused of creating and using a forever lasting love potion. How do you plead? "

Everyone in the court room held their breath; wondering how Ginny would plead.

"Innocent" she said.

Hermione was amazed. Ginny was actually going to fight this.

"Very well," said Scrimgeour. "Councilors, you may now proceed with your opening arguments.

The Prosecutor then stood up, and took the floor to give his opening argument. Like Robert Miller, he was a young man and was good looking. But whereas Robert was clean shaven, this man had a two day beard on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen; there are three unforgivable curses. And they are called unforgivable, because they are unforgiveable. one of these curses, is the imperious curse. As you know, this curse causes its victims to do the unquestionable bidding of whoever is casting it. It takes away our very free will. And that is why it is unforgivable. Ginny Weasley spent the better part of two years working on a potion that would take away someone's free will to choose who they love. And she succeeded. She took away Harry Potters choice in choosing who to love. And that is no different, than using an imperious curse. Thank you. "He then took his seat.

It was now Robert Miller's turn to take the floor and percent his argument.

"Ladies and gentlemen; love potions are not illegal, nor have they ever been illegal. A love potion does not change who you are. They do not cause you to change your political views and they certainly do not make you do the bidding of a Death Eater. As for whether or not my client actually made a love potion. The evidence is flimsy at best. We have a diary; who knows who wrote it? How do you know that this diary wasn't forged? how do we know this potion actually works? How do you know Harry Potter doesn't actually love Ginny Weasley for who she is. Ginny Weasley is an outstanding student at Hogwarts School. Plus she has shown true moral character. Two years ago, she played a part in defeating a group of Death Eaters, who were a tempting to steal from the department of mysteries. She fought against the very people, who would take away your free will. Ask yourselves; are these the actions of a criminal? Or of someone who would take away someone's free will?"

Hermione gasped. It seemed Robert Miller really did believe Ginny was innocent

As the trial proceeded; both sides gave aggressive arguments. Robert Miller continued to argue the diary was a fake. That it was inadmissible as evidence, because it was provided by Pansy Parkinson, a known Death Eater and fugitive. He also argued that there was no way of knowing that the potion actually worked, because the ministry was not willing to recreate it and test it. (And why would they? If it did in fact work, they would be condemning the test subject to a life of unable to choose the person they love.)

The Prosecutor however argued, that after a blood test, there was in fact traces of the potion in Harry Potters system, and that the potion did in fact work. As for the argument of the diary being a fake, the Prosecutor called Hermione to testify.

As Hermione took the stand to testify, she looked over at Mrs Weasley, who was giving her a very hate-filled look. Hermione's stomach turned. She hated having Mrs Weasley hate her. Mrs Weasley had always been so nice, almost like a second mother to Hermione. But now, it seemed like that bridge had been burned, forever.

"Please state your name for the record" said Scrimgeour, as Hermione took the stand.

"Hermione Jean... Weasley." said Hermione, hesitantly. This was the first time she had used her new last name.

There were whispers and murmurs all around the courtroom when Hermione said her last name.

"I'm sorry I thought your last name was Granger" interjected Robert Miller.

"It was," said Hermione plainly "until about 45 minutes ago. I just got married."

Even more whispers and murmurs filled the courtroom.

"Order!" shouted Scrimgeour, wanting to put a stop to all this gossiping. "I'm sure this is all very romantic. But can we please stick to the trial at hand."

The courtroom quieted down, and the Prosecutor began his questioning.

"How long have you known the defendant?" asked the Prosecutor.

"Six years, since my second year at Hogwarts." said Hermione.

"Six years, wow" said the Prosecutor. "So it's fair to say that you know the defendant pretty well then?" he asked.

"I thought I did," replied Hermione.

"But would you say, that you know the defendant well enough, to recognize her hand writing?" asked the Prosecutor.

"Yes," replied Hermione.

"Good, so would you say that the hand writing in the diary is the same as the defendant's?"

"I would, yes" said Hermione.

"And why would you think the defendant would concoct such a potion?"

"Because she's in love with Harry Potter and he doesn't love her, At least, not in the same way."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley. No further questions." The Prosecutor then sat down, to allow Robert Miller his turn to ask Hermione his own questions.

Hermione couldn't help but feel intimidated by him. His good looks alone were enough to make anyone nervous. Hermione worried what he might ask her. She never got the chance to find out however. Because the next thing she knew, there was a loud bang at the door, and everyone's attention had now turned towards the three Death Eaters, that were now standing in the courtroom.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Siege

There was a great panic, and screams of terror filled the courtroom, as the Death Eaters now approached. The few Aurors who were there, pulled out their wands to neutralize the Death Eaters. But they were too late. The Death Eaters had already disarmed them before they had a chance to speak the incantations.

Spells now bounced all across the room, and everyone took cover, as so not to get hit by one of them.

Hermione knew why these Death Eaters were here, it didn't take a genius to figure it out. They were after the FLLP, they must have found out that Ginny invented it.

But how?

She couldn't afford to think about that right now.

Right now, she had to stop the Death Eaters from getting their hands on it. So without even thinking about it, she leapt over the stand, and ran towards the evidence table, narrowly missing several curses along the way, and grabbed the diary.

She then flipped the evidence table on its side, and took cover behind it. She waited for the Death Eaters to fire at her, but they didn't. Their attention was on Ginny, they were after Ginny.

Although Hermione doubted, that Ginny would tell them how to make the FLLP, She didn't underestimate Voldermort's ability to extract information. She quickly pocketed the diary for safe keeping, and took out her wand. She aimed at the three masked Death Eaters, and fired a stunning curse their way. The curse hit the centre Death Eater in the chest, and sent him flying across the courtroom, hitting the stone wall in the process. Hermione thought she heard his back brake.

The remaining two Death Eaters now turned their attention to Hermione, and fired at her. She quickly took cover behind the table once again, and waited for her chance to fire back. But the Death Eaters attacks were so constant; she didn't have the opportunity to. The Death Eaters curses were hitting the table at an alarmingly violent rate, and Hermione could feel the vibrations from those curses on her back. She didn't see any way out of this; it was only a matter of time before the curses blew a hole in the table and took her out.

"Hey Hermione, heads up." shouted Fred Weasley, who was on the opposite side of the courtroom. He then threw a pair of retro specs her way, and Hermione knew what he had in mind. These retro specs had been designed by Pansy Parkinson for a specific use, and Hermione had used them once before, at a factory, where the Death Eaters had attempted to manufactured the FLLP. Once Hermione had no further use for them she gave them to Fred and George. She knew they could duplicate them and sell them in their joke shop.

They were dead handy for what was coming next.

There was a loud bang, and the whole courtroom suddenly filled with black smoke. No one could see their hand in front of their face. That was unless they were wearing the retro specs. Which Hermione was.

While the Death Eaters desperately tried to see, Hermione made her way over to Ginny. She grabbed Ginny by the hand, and lead

her through the smoke, and out of the courtroom. Once outside Hermione heard more screams of terror. She took a look around and saw that there were duels going on all round the Ministry. It was then Hermione realised that the entire Ministry was under siege.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Maze

The black smoke in the Courtroom was beginning to clear. And it was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters inside saw that Ginny Weasley was gone. Hermione had to get Ginny out of the Ministry, every second they were there, was another chance for them to get captured. All the Death Eaters had to do was go outside the courtroom, and they would find her.

Hermione looked at Ginny, she was clearly too weak to run; and the fact that she didn't have a wand meant she couldn't defend herself. The only way out of the Ministry, was either one of the fireplace entrances, or the visitors phone box entrance. Both of which, were sure to be guarded by Death Eaters, making sure no one got out.

Hermione put Ginny's arm around her shoulder, and began to help her walk along the stone walled corridor. There was only one place they could go from here. A place they could hide, until they figured out a way out of the Ministry. The Department of Mysteries. It was a place where a person could easily get lost. Even if the Death Eaters were to look for Ginny in there, there was little chance of them finding her.

As they made the short, but dangerous, journey towards the stairway that led to the Department of Mysteries; Hermione continually held out her wand, ready to stun anyone who might attack them. As they were right now, they were easy targets; so Hermione had to be vigilant. Luckily for them, everyone was engaged in their own battle right now. So no one noticed them as they went up the steps that led to the Department of Mysteries.

Once they had reached the top, Hermione looked back, only to hear the sounds of terror, war and doom below. It was unlikely the Aurors were going to win this. It was likely the Ministry was going to fall... today. There was nothing that could be done about that. The only chance the Wizarding world had now was Harry Potter getting out of the Ministry and completing his mission. It was also important that the Death Eaters didn't get their hands on the FLLP. That was Hermione's mission right now.

Hermione's thoughts were now of Ron. He was still in the Courtroom, probably fighting the Death Eaters inside, and trying to keep his family safe. She knew he could take care of himself. Despite what others thought about him, Ron had so much potential, and when it came down to it, could defend the ones he loved. But, she still worried about him. She also knew Ron would go find Harry, and together those two could handle anything (except homework assignments).

Hermione continued. She carried Ginny along the black stone corridor and approached the plain black door that led to the Department of Mysteries. As Hermione went through the door and into the dark circular room, with its twelve unmarked doors, she remembered the last time she had been there. It had not been a pleasant experience. She remembered the circular room spinning so fast that she had grabbed Harry's arm in fear. She remembered the confusion of not knowing which door to choose. And she still didn't know where all these doors led to. She remembered it well because that had been the night that Sirius Black died.

She closed the door behind them and waited for the room to start spinning. Once it was finished with its cycle, Hermione picked a door at random and went through it. The door led to a room that was different from the ones she had seen the last time she was there. The room was a corridor maze, with an infant amount of brown oak doors in the walls.

Perfect, thought Hermione. No one will find us in here. She carried Ginny through the corridor maze; making a mental note of each turn she made as she walked through. Left, Left, right, straight on, right, left, right straight on, straight on again and then left... until suddenly, she felt the need to stop. She picked the door that was closest to them and went through it. She hoped there was nothing dangerous in there.

The room was dark and resembled a Hogwarts classroom at night. There were tables and chairs all facing a single desk at the far end of the room, much like the transformation classroom. There were unlit torches all around the walls of the room, waiting to be lit. Hermione wondered what this room was used for. She guessed it was probably a place where the people who worked in the Department of Mysteries got their paper work done. She decided to light the torches so she could see better. With her wand, she shot out a fireball that spun all around the room and lit the torches on the walls. It was then Hermione and Ginny realised they weren't alone in the room. As the darkness lifted, they saw that there was a hooded figure in the far right corner.

"Who's there?" demanded Hermione, holding out her wand at the ready.

The hooded figure step forward and lifted its hood. Hermione couldn't believe it. How was it possible that her step sister, Pansy Parkinson, was here, in this exact room, at this exact time? It was as though she had been here waiting for Hermione to arrive. But how? How was it possible that Pansy would knew that Hermione would choose this exact room?

"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione.

Pansy replied by saying "Isn't it obvious, Granger? I'm here to get you out of here."

"But... how... why... how did you know I would come here?" asked Hermione, trying to make sense of this whole situation.

"I knew you'd escape the Death Eaters." said Pansy. "And I also knew you'd come to the Department of Mysteries to hide as well."

Hermione had to hand it to Pansy; she really did know her well. But that didn't explain how Pansy knew she would come to this exact part of the Department.

"But, how did you know I'd come here, to this part of the department?" asked Hermione. "I mean those corridors we just went through are a maze. And there are hundreds of doors to choose from. How did you know I'd choose this one?"

"I only knew that you'd come to the Department of Mysteries to hide." said Pansy. "I didn't know where you'd go from there. So I cast a spell that would lead you and Weasley here. No matter which door you chose in the dark room, it would have still led you to the maze, and no matter which door you chose in the maze it still would have led you to this room."

Hermione was in disbelief. She didn't know that Pansy was capable of such impressive magic. Clearly she had learned a lot in the short time she been in hiding with the Death Eaters.

"Okay, so how do we get out of here?" asked Hermione.

"There is a tunnel that leads to the muggle tube stations." said Pansy. "It was originally designed during the 2nd world war; so that the muggle prime minister could visit the Ministry."

"How do you know this?" asked Hermione. She had read dozens of books about the Ministry of Magic and its history, and had never once come across any mention about a secret tunnel that led to the London underground.

"My great grandfather told me about it." said Pansy. "He was one of the Wizards who helped built it. He also told me that it was kept secret after the prime minister died; because they didn't want muggles coming and going through the Ministry on a regular basis."

Typical of the Parkinson's, thought Hermione.

"Hey, I have a question." said Ginny, speaking for the first time since the trial. "How did you know the Death Eaters were going to attack? How did they know it was me who invented the forever lasting love potion?"

Pansy looked down in shame. "Because it was me who told them"

"What!?" said Hermione, "Why?"

"Because they wanted me to try and recreate the potion." said Pansy. "After I told them I couldn't remember how to make it; they said they were going to read my mind in order to figure out how to make it again. I had no choice but to tell them. Otherwise they would have read my mind, and found out that I was behind destroying the potion in the first place... Look, they were always going to attack the Ministry. The fact that I told them about the potion only means they are attacking today, instead of two weeks from now."

"Why are they attacking today?" asked Hermione.

"Because it's the day of the trial." said Pansy. "They knew that Ginny would be in court and not in a holding cell. That way she'd be easier to obtain."

"How did they find out that the trial was today?" asked Ginny, sounding suspicious of Pansy, and giving her a dirty look.

"That I don't know." said Pansy. "But my guess is, that they have a spy or two in the Ministry."

Ginny didn't look convinced, and continued to give Pansy a dirty look.

"Look." said Pansy with a sigh, "I know you don't trust me. And I don't blame you. But believe me, I don't want the Dark Lord to get his hands on the potion any more than you do."

"Why?" asked Ginny. "Being a Death Eater, I would have thought you'd be in favour of ensuring purebloods married purebloods."

"I am for purebloods marrying purebloods." argued Pansy. "But... I believe they should do it because it's the right thing to do, not because they are under the influence of a potion."

This sounded very hypocritical, coming from someone who had once tried getting their pureblood parents back together again by using a love potion.

Pansy pulled out a bottle of wiggenweld potion from her robes and handed it to Ginny.

"Here, you'll need to keep your strength up." said Pansy.

Ginny drank the potion in one gulp, and immediately the colour came back to her cheeks. Pansy then pulled out a wand from her robes and handed it to Ginny. Ginny recognized it immediately as her own wand.

"Where did you get this?" she asked. "The Aurors took it off me when they grabbed me."

"The Death Eaters aren't the only ones with a person inside the Ministry." said Pansy smugly.

"Who?" asked Hermione, inquisitively.

The door opened: and just like that, Hermione's question was answered. Cho Chang, had entered the room. Hermione felt a sudden rush of embarrassment. Although there was no way that Cho could know, that it was Hermione, not Harry, she had kissed that day in Hogsmeade Village, Hermione still felt uncomfortable.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Ron's Moment to Shine**

The black smoke in the Courtroom was beginning to clear, and Ron could now start to see what was in front of him. Fred's peruvian darkness powder had worked. Hermione had gotten Ginny out of the courtroom, while everyone was blinded by the black smoke. The Death Eaters had no idea of what just happened. They looked around trying to see where Ginny had gone, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Ron took this opportunity to act. There was only two Death Eaters left, and Ron had the higher ground advantage. He pulled out his wand from his pocket, and fired a stunning spell at the remaining two Death Eaters. The spell managed to hit one of the Death Eaters in the chest; sending him flying across the room and on to the ground, unconscious. The remaining Death Eater now turned his full attention to Ron. He lifted his wand and aggressively fired curse after curse at him: like a world war two machine gunner.

Ron just narrowly missed being hit by the rapidly fired curses shot at him, as he took cover behind a bench.

SHIT! He thought, how am I going to get out of this?

He looked around, trying to see if there was anything he could use to distract the Death Eater so he could make his escape, but there was nothing. Suddenly, the firing stopped. And Ron wondered what this meant. He then heard the sounds of footsteps heading his way, as the Death Eater was closing in on him: like a cat who had just cornered a mouse.

Ron knew, if he attempted to stun the Death Eater now, he would be exposed and the Death Eater would stun him.

As the Death Eater approached, Ron's mind began to race. There was only one thing he could do.

When the Death Eater approached the bench where Ron was hiding, he looked behind it, expecting to find a cowering and scared Ron, but instead found nothing: Ron had gotten away. But the Death Eater wasn't discouraged. He knew Ron couldn't have escaped the courtroom or have gotten far. So he started to search, and began to sing in a sinister way.

"Weasley, Weasley where are you?

what do you think your going to do?

you can't run, you can't hide

and when I find you, you will die."

Ron's blood turned cold. He recognized that voice, it was the voice of Vincent Crabbe. That meant...

Ron made his way towards the Death Eater that Hermione had stunned earlier. He was still laid on the floor, and it looked like he really had broken his back. Ron pulled off the Death Eater's mask to reveal that it was in fact... Draco Malfoy.

He couldn't say he was surprised. He knew that Malfoy and his cronies would become Death Eaters, sooner or later. But he never thought the Dark Lord would entrust them with a mission like this.

"He's here! he's here!" shouted Malfoy.

Fuck! Malfoy had just given away his position, and Crabbe now knew where to strike. Ron had to move. But before he did; He punched Malfoy in the face, just before dodging another set of curses from Crabbe's wand. He took cover once again behind another bench, and moved alongside it, as so not to stay in one place where Crabbe might catch him.

He couldn't believe this: he was hiding from Crabbe, of all people. Crabbe, who was so stupid: it was surprising that he could get himself dressed in the morning. Yet here he was; chasing Ron through the courtroom: like a cat chasing a mouse.

Ron had to get the upper hand somehow... But how? The only way he could think of, was to somehow sneak up behind Crabbe, and stun him. He continued to crouch behind the benches, and circled around the courtroom, until he was finally behind Crabbe. He rose up from behind his hiding spot, and stunned Crabb in the back. Crabb went down like a rock.

Ron emerged triumphantly. He looked around to see that everyone else in the room was unconscious. He knew that before long everyone would regain conscious, so he went over to the unconscious Death Eaters and binded them with some rope conjured from his wand. He then heard the sounds of battle coming from outside the Courtroom. He looked outside to see an epic battle taking place. Aurors were fighting Death Eaters in a bid for control of the Ministry. It was then Ron realized, that even though he had won this battle inside the courtroom, the fight was not over. He looked over to the stairway that led to the Department of Mysteries and saw what looked like Hermione and Ginny, heading up them. He thought about joining them, but no, he was needed right here.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Without an invisibility cloak

"What's she doing here?" Sneered Ginny, as Cho Chang now entered the room.

"It's nice to see you too, Weasley." said Cho sarcastically, as she pulled out a chair from a near by table and sat down.

"Cho here, is our inside man; or woman as the case maybe." said Pansy, trying to ignore the obvious awkwardness that had befallen the room with Cho's entrance.

It was clear to everyone in the room that there was some tension. Clearly, Ginny still saw Cho, as a rival for Harry's affections. Even though Harry was still under the influence of the FLLP, and that He and Cho, had broken up naturally, Ginny still saw Cho as a threat. Hermione wondered if maybe, Cho was the key to finding a cure. She couldn't think about that right now; right now she had to get Ginny out of there.

"What does that mean, she's our inside man!?" said Ginny coldly.

"It means I work for the Ministry; I can get us out of here." said Cho.

"Yeah, well how did you two end up working together?" Demanded Ginny.

Hermione had to admit, that was a very good question. She knew that Pansy had leaked information to Cho, about the Death Eaters plan to distribute the FLLP to the entire pureblood population; but that had been done anonymously. So how was it, that Pansy and Cho were now working together?

"We weren't. At least, not until about an hour ago." said Pansy. "You see, I wanted to warn the Ministry about the attack; but the only person I knew how to get in contact with, who worked at the Ministry, was Cho. I had to convince her that it was me who had supplied her with the information about the Death Eaters plan to distribute the forever lasting love potion."

"If you wanted to warn the Ministry about the attack, why did you wait until now?" asked Ginny.

"Because I only found out today, that they were attacking today." said Pansy. "The past twenty-four hours have been really hectic for me."

"Oh, the past twenty-four hours have been really hectic for you!" snapped Ginny. "Try spending two weeks in a holding cell, with a Dementor guarding you day and night!"

Hermione hadn't said anything since Cho had entered the room; she was still feeling the shock of seeing her. Although the other girls hadn't noticed, Hermione had been frozen on the spot. She felt if she said anything, Cho would find out that Hermione had impersonated Harry. But she had to intervene now; this was turning ugly.

"Okay, calm down! Piped Hermione.

All heads now turned to Hermione. It was as though she had taken charge of the situation. She turned to Pansy and asked... "Pansy, what was the plan here exactly?"

"Cho retrieves Ginny's wand and secures the path to the tunnel; while I lead you here. We then all meet up here, fill you two in, and then head to the tunnel. Which reminds me."

Pansy then turned to Cho and asked. "Is the route to the tunnel secure?"

"Not quite," said Cho, hesitantly. "There are Death Eaters all over the place. We're going to have to be extra careful, if we don't want to get caught."

"What do you mean?" asked Pansy. "We have the invisibility cloak."

"Actually, no." said Cho, holding up what looked like an invisibility cloak. "As I was scouting the area, one of your friends managed to hit me with a curse. Now the conseilus charm on the cloak is gone."

"What!?" said Pansy, in anger and disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me!... Shit!... What are we going to do now?"

The room suddenly fell into an awkward silence as Pansy's anger calmed down. Nobody knew what to do as they all looked at the floor.

"We can fight!"

Everyones attention now turned towards Ginny, who had just said that.

"What are you talking about?" Sneered Cho, trying to hold back her anger. The rivalry between the two girls had only seemed to have grown over time, and had become more hostel.

"I have my wand back." replied Ginny. "We can fight our way to the tunnel."

"Forget that." said Cho unconvinced. "There's only four of us, and hundreds of them; we wouldn't stand a chance.

"So what should we do, hmm?" asked Ginny. "Just stay here and hope that they don't find us?"

No one replied. It seemed, that no one else had a better idea. They took a moment to compose themselves. Then without hesitating any longer, they walked out the door to face what was out there.


End file.
